Part of the Global Plot to Expose Moonbats, conspiracy nuts, and anti-Semites, especially the Jewish anti-Semitic variety.
The leftwing Neo-Nazi web magazine Counterpunch has described Plaut thus: "One of the most pernicious writers is Steven Plaut, a man who could be thought of as Israel's Daniel Pipes."

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Reprint - Zionist Youth Movements

Back to the future?

The following article came out in Midstream magazine, a North AmericanZionist magazine, in 1988. It was actually written in 1987, making ita quarter century old. I had by that time made aliya to Israel,completely adjusted, and even was married with a baby at the time. Iwill not reveal to you how many years older I am now, a quartercentury later.

Anyway, Midstream at the time was not on line, and few other thingswere. I do not think this piece was fully published on line untilrecently, but I stumbled across it on the educational resources pageof the World Zionist Organization. (Many years back I may have posteda draft of it on my list and blog.)

On Zionist Youth MovementsAbout: This article is brought to you by the Hagshama DepartmentAuthor: Steven Plaut Originally published as: Published May 1988Midstream, Subscription Dept. 633 3rd Avenue - 21st Floor New York, NY10017

I grew up in a Zionist youth movement. Like most of the members of allZionist youth organizations, the movement itself played a central rolein my childhood and teen-age years, and perhaps even today exercises acertain amount of influence upon me. For many years the movement wasthe center of gravity in social matters. I have many fond memories ofthose years; some of my closest friends today are old movementcomrades.

The movements, of course, strive to be much more than socialorganizations. Each group has a specific agenda, with immigration toIsrael playing a particularly important role. Each has a politicalself-definition and identity. Few other organizations could generatein teen-agers and college students the same feelings of importance,righteousness, and of serving the grand cause.

Today I am advancing reluctantly toward middle age (I said THAT in1988!! -- SP). I am also an Israeli. I intend here to put asidenostalgia in order to engage in a critical analysis of Zionist youthmovements from an adult perspective. I am sure many will not agreewith it; perhaps it may serve as a catalyst for dialogue.

Zionist youth organizations are worth discussing for the simple reasonthat they are the future of and in many ways the most important bodieswithin organized Zionism in the Diaspora. To some extent they producefuture Israelis, although this is not their sole function. At minimumthey are extremely influential over their own membership.

The weaknesses of the Zionist youth movements are so obvious whenviewed in retrospect through adult eyes that it seems hard to explainwhy they have been and remain so difficult to identify for thoseparticipating directly in those movements. I will discuss several ofthese shortcomings that are in my opinion the most harmful anddisturbing.

I find the most problematic aspect of the Zionist movement in generaland of the Zionist youth movements in particular to be their divisionsand allegiances along the internal party lines of Israel. Eachorganization seems to see itself as the overseas appendage of aspecific Israeli party, following that party's lead and line. Eachorganization believes its raison d'etre is to act as a Diaspora base,supplying personnel and political support for its Israeli counterpart.

This partisan politicization of the Zionist movement is in fact only anatural extension to the Diaspora of the extensive over-politicizationof all aspects of life in Israel, upon which I have commentedelsewhere. Indeed it extends beyond the Zionist movement proper andinto the general Jewish (and occasionally non-Jewish) communities inthe form of partisan support for Israeli political organizations,e.g., Peace Now, Gush Emunim, and so on.

Of all the problems that could and should be addressed by organizedZionism in the Diaspora, or as I prefer to think of it - the Zionist'opposition" within Diaspora Jewry, can think of none that would beless relevant and less beneficial than the question of the "properstance" vis-a-vis Israeli elections. Affter all, what importance orrelation do these elections have to the issues facing Diapora Jewry,to the questions of individual and communal Jewish identity, Jewisheducation, assimilation, Anti-Semitism, or even aliyah?

The partisan mobilization consigns the Zionist movement to marginalitybecause it focuses energy and attention on elections whose outcomes donot directly affect Diaspora Jews. The latter are by and largeignorant of what those elections are all about and the issues at play.In any case, election issues like monetary policy and urban planningare not exactly the stuff from which dramatic Zionist rallying criesare made.

Several Zionist youth organizations are associated with specifickibbutz associations in Israel. I can recall impassioned debates amongAmerican movement colleagues, sometimes running into the wee hours,over the advantages and disadvantages of these kibbutz associations. Iwould wager that not one Israeli kibbutz member in five can clearlyexplain or cares the least about the differences among theseassociations. (Perhaps the picture was different 50 years ago.) Amongnon-kibbutz Israelis virtually no one knows or cares. Yet in theUnited States the Zionist youth movements splintered and passionately"battled" one another over such irrelevant lines of distinction.

It is ironic to note that the Israeli parties themselves receive verylittle benefit from this Diaspora politicization. For example, theflow of American immigrants to kibbutzim is minuscule; many who joinare not movement graduates, and some are not Jewish. Of movementgraduates who join kibbutzim, many subsequently leave, and many alsoleave Israel. The net increment (inflow minus outflow) from alloverseas youth movements to all kibbutzim together is at most a fewscore per year, and probably at times is negative. Financial supportfrom the Diaspora organizations to their Israeli counterparts is alsosmall, and in some cases it too is probably negative on net. Even thepolitical support for specific Israeli parties generated in theDiaspora by Zionist and non-Zionist organizations is not of greatvalue, given the natural (and usually justified) inclination ofIsraelis to dismiss as meddling attempts from abroad, including thosefrom Zionist Jews, to preach to them about their politicalalternatives.

These anachronistic partisan loyalties condemn much of the Zionistyouth movement to impotence and render it unable to exploit the scaleeconomies and momentum that would accompany organizationalamalgamation. Even religious distinctions would not stand in the wayof amalgamation as party loyalties do. American Jews are generallymuch more tolerant of one another's religious (or non-religious)inclinations than are Israelis; the religious heterogeneity of mostDiaspora Zionist organizations is a testament to the feasibility ofamalgamation.

Another major problem of the Zionist movements is the role assigned toaliyah and the way in which the "aliyah issue" is represented. I saythis not because I think aliyah is unimportant (I think it isimportant) nor because I think American Jews should not make aliyah (Ithink they should). The problem is that aliyah is a major lifedecision, something on the same order of magnitude as marriage orparenthood. In the youth movements, however, it has been reduced to aslogan.

People do not make life decisions -at least not successful ones- onthe basis of slogans. Aliyah must stem from a careful examination ofone's goals, ideology, religious outlook, world-view, etc. It isreally not a one-shot "decision," but rather an ongoing chain ofdecisions that continues long after physical relocation to Israel.

Even serious and well-considered aliyah decisions often end in reversemigration within a few years. Frivolous aliyah decisions seldomsucceed.

Part of the problem is that the Zionist youth movements, whileexcessively aliyah-centered, are insufficiently Jewish- andeducationally-centered. Herzl once said that in order to get the Jewsout of Egypt Moses first had to get Egypt out of the Jews. The Zionistorganizations cannot hope to create an aliyah stream unless they firstsucceed in a campaign of serious Jewish education. Aliyah is abyproduct of deep Jewish commitment and consciousness. Because thereis little Jewish consciousness, and weak Jewish identity, there islittle aliyah. Interestingly, this is very poorly understood inIsrael. Israel continues to pour significant amounts of money into thenetwork of shlichim (emissaries), whose function is supposed to be theencouragement of aliyah. A cabinet minister for absorption is alsosupposed to be working at encouraging aliyah.

Perhaps it is time to re-examine the effectiveness of the shaliachidea. In most cases, the shaliach supplies some technical informationor expedites some bureaucratic chore involved in aliyah - but it israre that he or she inspires the decision to make aliyah itself. Toincrease aliyah, fundamental Jewish identity issues must be addressed.

The 'sloganization" of aliyah in the youth movements has a number ofnegative repercussions. When aliyah is the central focus of youthfulenthusiasm, many forget to ask the obvious next question, "Afteraliyah, what?" There are many movement graduates who optimisticallymade the immigration decision completely unprepared for life andcareer thereafter.

Zionist youth organizations are in many cases indifferent towardcareer preparation and in some cases downright hostile toward it. Inthe kibbutz-oriented movements career goals are often consideredideologically impure, or are at least relegated to secondaryimportance, since the future oleh is to dwell in an agriculturalcommunal proletariat. Many seem to have been convinced that in kibbutzlife skills, training, and education are expendable. Of course theyare not. And in Israeli life outside the kibbutz confines, thesethings are certainly no less vital than they would be in America.

When aliyah is seen as the grand solution, other life problems mayremain unaddressed. It is a truism among veteran olim that everysingle problem someone has before aliyah will remain with him afteraliyah, with some new ones to boot. Life in Israel can be extremelyrewarding, but no one claims that it is easy. It is probablyimpossible really to prepare someone for many of the tribulations ofabsorption. But to tackle absorption without some direction in termsof one's professional goals means that additional life crises andproblems must be tackled at the same time.

There are countless stories about movement graduates who haveimmigrated to Israel, joined kibbutzim, and then - ten years down theline - leave the kibbutz only to find themselves unskilled,under-qualified, bereft of savings, and with a family to support.Under these circumstances it is not surprising that many leave Israelaltogether. Given a choice between a fresh start in America vs.blue-collar or low-rung clerical work and salary in Israel, fewbreadwinners over 30 will choose the latter. (And that was BEFOREmost kibbutzim in Israel went bankrupt - SP)

In some of the youth movements the urgency with which aliyah isstressed means in effect that immigration takes place by age 20 or so,or else it is "too late." This reminds me of how single women past acertain early age are relegated to spinsterhood in some societies.

To arrive in Israel armed with professional skills, or at least with aclear decision about career direction, is to win half the battle. Italso makes aliyah a more rewarding experience. The youth movements donot seem to have digested the fact that Israel's swamps have beendrained and its roads have been built. The pioneering challenges oftoday have changed. Israel of the 1980s is an advanced modern societyfull of problems. The modern pioneer, the immigrant who wishes todevote himself to attempts at resolving those problems, needs morethan the fervor of his Zionist commitment. He needs skills, degrees,training and of course infinite patience and energy, to succeed.

Ninety-seven percent of Israelis have voted with their feet againstkibbutz life. Kibbutzim are increasingly marginal to Israeli societyin all senses. Small-town agricultural communal life is in many waysthe most unnatural and the most difficult to adapt to for those raisedin urban, individualist, Western society. The centrality of thekibbutz for so much of organized Zionism often backfires in that itsteers many away from urban and suburban life-styles available inIsrael, the ones chosen by the vast majority of the Israelis, the onesmost amenable for a Western Jew. I am behind those who choose to liveon kibbutzim. I am also behind those who choose to live in urban orsuburban Israel. There is nothing morally superior about the former.

The aliyah issue is actually only one side of a more general problem,namely the role of "youth" and of the youth movement. This isparticularly manifested in the attitudes of youth organizations andtheir members toward the relative importance of education vs.activism. The movements revel in the idea that education, or at leastZionist education, can and should be completed by the late teens, ifnot sooner. Thereafter the movement member becomes an educator andactivist. The result is a population of teen-agers and those in theirearly twenties convinced that they already know all there is to know(at least all that is important to know) about Israel, Zionism,Judaism, politics, sociology, etc.

Such an attitude is of course a sure path to intellectual shallownessand closed-mindedness, and perhaps even anti-intellectualism. Somehowthe idea gets conveyed in the youth movements that solutions andanswers are possible without serious, long years of deep and difficultanalysis and experience. For college-age movement members, Zionistactivities often consist of campus activism and agitprop, but notserious education and learning. Many of them move to Israel thinkingthey have the answers to Israel's problems in their suitcase.

The feeling that answers are already known to movement seniors isreflected in other ways. Among the Zionist movements, several definethemselves as Socialist, and at least one as Marxist. Members andindividuals in other organizations also sometimes follow Leftish fads.Zionist youth movement graduates have always been active on the farLeft of the political spectrum, both within Israel and on Americancampuses. For some, the transition from the Zionist Left to just plaincampus Leftism (and anti-Zionism) comes easily -another symptom of theshallowness of movement education.

Marxism, of course, has taken on more of the trappings of a cult thanof a serious social science and "Socialism" is no more than the sloganof the economically illiterate. The continuing romance with Socialistrhetoric by so much of the Zionist movement damages that movement inmany ways. Though this is not the place to go into details, I believethe main source of Israel's economic difficulties is the continuingattempt by its political elite to run the economy along Socialistlines. The last thing Israel can use is more "Socialism," that is,more bureaucracy, regulation, government control of the economy, andtaxation. Immigrants who come to Israel with Socialist banners becomepart of the economic problem, not the solution. Ironically,"Socialism" as a slogan and ideal is dead in Israel for virtually allthose outside of the kibbutz, and perhaps even for many inside.Socialist preaching is a sure method for being dismissed as irrelevantor just ignored.

Within the Diaspora it also hinders the positive role the Zionistorganizations can play. The bulk of the non-Orthodox community hasreplaced Jewish self-interest and survival with the American liberalagenda as their political identity, indeed as their religion. The roleof Zionism should be to confront American Jewish assimilationism andpresent an alternative based on Jewish interests. By singing Socialisttunes the Zionist movement ends up playing the role of Left-wingopposition within the Jewish community, rather than Zionistopposition. "Zionists" are then no more than Jewish liberals in ahurry. In some extreme cases, movement graduates migrate into theLeftist anti-Zionist opposition groups within the Jewish community.

I have been speaking very critically, perhaps severely, of organizedZionist youth movements. I hope my intentions are not misconstrued. Ithink that in small doses the movements do some positive things, andthere is potential for doing much better.

The way for organized Zionism to expand its role and its contributionis to amalgamate its various youth organizations into a very smallnumber of broad and non-political organizations (preferably just one).Organized Zionism should divorce itself from Israeli electoralpolitics and from kibbutz associations. Its political stance, to theextent that it should have any, should be supporting the broad Israelielectorate on those matters for which consensus exists. Its rolewithin the Diaspora should be first and foremost educational. Itsactivism within the Jewish community should be over issues of Jewishself-interest and not the American electoral questions of Right andLeft. Israel should play a central role. Aliyah should be discussed,even encouraged, but its complexities and difficulties, too, should beaddressed. The idea of spending at least part of one's life in Israelshould be promoted, but not as a slogan, Education should be aserious, professional, continuing process. Finally, the causes of theLeft liberal political agenda may or may not be justified on their owngrounds. Regardless, they are not the causes of Jewish self-interest,the Zionist agenda. This should be made crystal clear to all by thosein the Zionist movement; first and foremost, they must learn itthemselves.